Roller casing for textile stretching apparatus



May 16, 1939. H. w. METTLER ROLLER CASING FOR TEXTILE STRETCHING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 27, 1938 INVENTOR Harv /%lZ/z' #7617! 7 W ATTORNEYS Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLLER G'ASING FOR TEXTILE STRETCHING APPARATUS Hans Willi Mettler, Geneva, Switzerland 4 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for the stretching of strips of fabric of textile or similar material, and more particularly to apparatus having a flexible roller casing. The invention aims to provide an improved flexible roller casing, preferably formed of rubber, which is of tubular form, reinforced with a helical metal band and adapted to be placed over a supporting roller body or member. The metal band is preferably rectangular in cross-section and is vulcanized into the body of the rubber roller casing.

The reinforcing metal band is integral with the casing and is preferably embedded in or enveloped with the rubber and prevented from c0n tacting corrosive liquids or gases. Moreover, the cross-sectional form of the metal band, together with its special arrangement gives increased elasticity to the roller casing.

In the accompanying drawing, a roller casing constructed in accordance with the invention is shown, partly in section, in its mounted position over the supporting roller body or member.

The yieldably elastic, tubular roller casing l is preferably made of rubber, for example, and has a staying or reinforcing metal band 2 of rectangular cross-section embedded in or enveloped by the rubber. The longitudinal axis of the band extends in the direction of the axis of rotation of the roller casing. The roller body or supporting member for the casing comprises a plurality of spaced rollers or disks 3 which are rotatably mounted on a curved or bent shaft and held in spaced position by a plurality of spacing sleeves 5. The shaft 4 is curved or bent in the middle only, the remainder being straight, and is fixedly mounted in suitable supporting members (not shown). In order to hold the disks 3 fast in axial direction, an adjusting ring 6 is screw-ed on each end of the shaft 4.

The metal wire or band 2 may be made of steel or of other material which is not attacked by the material of the roller casing. It is preferable to use for this purpose a hardened, strongly tempered steel. The metal wire may be used plain, however it may also be coated with a layer of another metal, for example, by spray process, electrolytic process or by dipping in a bath. The profile of the roller casing can have, in addition to the double cone form shown, also a form increasing from. the center toward both sides like a trumpet. The roller casing is first made in symmetrical form and then adapted to the shaft by bending.

The apparatus may be so constructed that in each rotation around the shaft, a given line on the periphery, extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing, may vary from a straight line to a curved or bent line. However, the shaft may also be sufficiently bent that the casing line changes in form from a definite positive curve or bend to a negative curve and is then curved positively again. It is possible by suitably curving or bending the shaft and so forming the roller casing, as well as by suitable adjustment of the shaft to the strip of fabric and changing the curvature of the strip of fabric over the roller casing, to obtain the most varied stretching effects. Certain features of the apparatus herein are described and claimed in my copending application, Serial Number 187,147, filed January 2'7, 1938.

The use of the supporting, rectangular metal Wire enables the roller casing, in bent state, to oifer less resistance to the rotation than a roller reinforced with a round or square wire, for example.

I claim:

1. A flexible roller casing for textile stretching apparatus formed of rubber having a staying or reinforcing helical metal band which is rectangular in cross-section and Vulcanized inside the wall of the rubber casing.

2. A flexible roller casing for textile stretching apparatus which is formed of rubber and has a helical reinforcing band inside of the wall of the rubber, said band being formed of a corrosion resisting metal and rectangular in cross-section.

3. A casing according to claim 1 which is tubular and increases in diameter from its center in i 

